3)^ 

'/ill 
.  M477 

Ell 


HISTORICAL  SERMON 


PREACHED  IN  THE 


South  St.  Presbyterian  Church 

IN  MORRISTOWN,  N.  J., 


ON  THE 


SOtli  Anniversary  of  its  Organization, 

MAY  31,   1891, 

BY  THE  PASTOR, 

/ 


PRINTED    BY    THE   SESSION. 


MORRISTOWN,  N.  J.: 

Printed  at  "The  Jerseyman"  Office 

1891. 


^RY  OF  PHlficif^ 
JUN    20  1997 


A,.  ..^y 


SOUTH  STREET  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 
Erected  1878. 


HISTORICAL  NOTE. 


/^HE  SOUTH  STREET  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  of  Mor- 
^-^  ristown,  N.  J.,  was  organized  under  the  name  of  "  The  Second 
Presbyterian  Church"  in  June.  1841,  with  a  membership  of  two  hundred 
and  eight  (208)  communicants,  all  of  whom,  except  one,  were  received 
by  certificate  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  place. 

Feb.  2 1  St,  1 84 1.  The  congregation  began  holding  religious  ser- 
vices in  the  upper  hall  of  the  Academy,  under  the  ministrations  of  the 
Rev.  Orlando  L.  Kirtland  as  stated  supply. 

May  27th,  1841.  The  corner  stone  of  a  house  of  worship  was  laid 
with  appropriate  ceremonies. 

June  ist,  1 841.     The  Church  was  regularly  organized  by  a   Com 
mittee  of  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown,  consisting  of  Messrs.   David 
Magie   and   Nicholas    Murray,  Ministers,  and    Richard  Townley  and 
James  F.  Meeker,  Elders. 

October  14th,  1841.  The  Church  building  was  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  God,  and  on  the  same  occasion  the  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland  was 
duly  installed  as  Pastor  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown. 

June,  1861.  The  Church  was  received  under  the  care  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Newark. 

June  30th,  1872.  By  a  vote  of  the  Church  the  Plan  of  the  Limi- 
ted Term  of  Service  of  the  Eldership  was  adopted,  with  a  session  of 
nine  acting  Elders,  arranged  in  three  classes,  the  full  term  of  service  be- 
ing three  years.  The  year  previous  a  Bench  of  six  Deacons  was  chosen 
on  the  basis  of  the  same  plan. 

January  loth,  1877.  The  Church  building  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
Steps  were  immediately  taken  for  rebuilding,  and  on  July  12th,  1878, 
the  present  Church  was  formally  dedicated,  the  Rev.  M.  D.  Hoge, 
D.D.,  of  Richmond,  preaching  the  sermon.  During  the  building  of  the 
Church,  services  were  held  regularly,  at  first  in  the  chapel  of  the  Public 


School  on  Maple  avenue,  from  Jan.  14th  to  June  3d,  afterward,  till  the 
new  house  was  finished,  in  the  hall  of  the  Library  and  Lyceum, 

On  Lord's  Day  morning.  May  31,  1891,  the  Pastor,  Albert  Erd- 
man,  preached  the  Historical  Sermon,  being  assisted  in  the  Devotional 
Services  by  the  Rev.  Charles  K.  Lnbrie,  D.D.,  of  Jersey  City,  N.  J,,  who 
preached  the  installation  sermon  of  the  first  pastor  of  the  Church  on 
Oct.  14th,  1 841. 

In  the  evening,  a  Union  Service  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
and  the  South  Street  Presbyterian  Church  was  held,  at  which  addresses 
were  made  by  the  Rev.  Drs.  Lnbrie,  Robert  Aikman  of  Madison,  Theo. 
F.  White  of  Summit,  Kinsley  Twining  of  Morristown,  and  John  Mac- 
naughtan,  pastor  of  the  First  Church.  Mr.  Thomas  B.  Ironside,  Su- 
perintendent of  the  Market  Street  Mission,  assisted  in  the  Devotional 
Exercises. 

On  Tuesday  Evening,  June  2d,  a  Reception  of  the  congrega- 
tion, to  which  the  congregation  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  and 
the  pastors  of  the  several  Churches  in  Morristown  were  invited,  was 
held  in  the  Sunday  School  rooms,  at  which  addresses  were  made  by  the 
Pastor,  Elder  F.  G.  Burnham,  Rev.  Drs.  J.  E.  Adams  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  J.  M.  Buckley  and  John  Macnaughtan.  The  Rev. 
W.  J.  Parmelee  of  the  Congregational  Church  made  the  Prayer  of 
Thanksgiving.  The  rooms  were  handsomely  decorated  with  plants  and 
flowers  and  the  national  flag.     The  music  was  furnished  by  the  choir. 


NAMES  OF  PASTORS. 


C)rlando  L.  Kiktland,  June,  1841,  to  October,  1851. 
Jamks   C.  Edwards,  January,  1852,  to  April,  i860. 
Arthur  Mitchell,  November,  1861,  to  October,  186 
Albf.ri'  Erdman,  March,  1869. 


CHURCH  OFFICERS. 


ELDERS. 

Jabez  Mills,  Amos  Prudden, 

John  W.  Poinier,  Ezra  J.  Cooper, 

William  B.  Johnston.  Amzi  Gary, 

Absalom  Woodruff,  M.D.,  Edwin  Graves, 

Isaac  R.  Noyes,  Heman  Mead, 

John  C.  Hines,  Charles  G.  Hazeltine, 

Matthew  Mitchell,  Jonathan  W.  Roberts, 

M.  C.  (t.  Witte,  E.  Augustus  Graves, 
Edward  J.  Danforth. 
All  of  whom,  with  one  exception,  have  passed  away. 

PRESENT  ACTING  ELDERS. 
Frederick  G.  Burnham,  F.  S.  Bradford,  M.D., 

Philip  H.  Hoffman,  Joseph  F.  Randolph. 

S   Lyman  Young.  Jacob  L.  Sutphen. 

F.  H.  Fairchild, 

W.  L.   R.  Haven, 

Geo.  H.  Kennedy. 


DEACONS. 
♦William  S.  Babbitt,  F.  W.  Owen,  M.D., 

*  Samuel   McNair,  James  Chambers. 

*  Deceased. 

PRESENT  BENCH  OF  DEACONS. 

J.  Frank  Lindsley,  E.  Alonzo  Doty, 

John  B.  Vreeland,  Henry  White, 

Theodore  Ayers, 

Charles  W.  Ford. 


TRUSTEES. 

Term  expires.  Term  expires 

D.  B.  Hatch,  May,  1894.  F.  S.  Bradford,  M.D.,  May,  1893 

Geo.  H.  Kennedy,  "  P.  H.  Hofifman,  Pres., 

Levi  C.  Lathrop,  "  John  Thatcher, 

Term  expires. 
J.  Frank  Lindsley,       May,  1992. 

Hampton  O.  Marsh,  " 

John  B.  Vreeland,  " 

H.  B.  Hofifman,  Treasurer. 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  SUPERINTENDENTS. 

W.   W.   Cutler,  Geo.  H.  Kennedy, 

H.  W.  Buxton,  Henry  White. 


Rev.  albert    ERDMAN,  D.D. 


SEMI-CENTENNIAL  SERMON, 

by  the  pastor, 
Rev.  albert  ERDMAN,  D.D. 


Job  32:  7. — "  Days  should  speak,  and  multitude  of  years  should  teach 

wisdom." 

Deut.  8:  2. — "And  thou  shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  led  thee." 

"  Days  should  speak"  of  God's  grace  and  goodness,  and  "  multitude 
of  years"  should  teach  lessons  of  gratitude  and  praise,  as  well  as  of  hu- 
mility and  confession.  One  of  the  most  natural,  as  it  is  one  of  the 
most  becoming,  emotions  of  the  human  heart,  is  the  feeling  of  gratitude. 
Amid  the  ruin  into  which  by  reason  of  sin  man  is  fallen,  gratitude  is  at 
least  a  remnant  of  a  higher  and  nobler  estate.  It  is  one  link,  how- 
ever weak  and  marred,  that  continues  to  ally  earth  to  heaven — fallen 
man  with  angel  hosts. 

It  is,  therefore,  no  arbitrary  requirement  on  the  part  of  God  when 
he  desires,  even  commands,  the  praises  of  His  creatures  and  especially  of 
the  people  whom  He  calls  by  His  name.  "  Virtuous  hearts,"  it  has  been 
well  said,  "are  instinctively  grateful."  And  "God  gives  us  remem- 
brance in  order  that  we  may  make  great  and  blessed  use  of  it."  It 
should  teach  us  humiUty  and  hopeful  thankfulness. 

In  the  63d  chapter  of  Isaiah,  the  prophet  gives  expression  to  the 
feeling  of  the  pious  heart  as  it  recalls  the  "  great  goodness"  of  Jehovah 
to  His  people,  in  language  unsurpassed  in  beauty  and  pathos  by  any- 
thing I  know  in  all  the  Bible,  "  I  will  mention  the  loving  kindnesses  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  praises  of  the  Lord,  according  to  all  that  the  Lord 
hath  bestowed  upon  us,  accordmg  to  His  mercies,  and  according  to  the 
multitude  of  His  loving-kindnesses."     The  use  of  the  plurals  and  the 


repetitions— "  loving-kindnesses,"  "mercies,"  "multitude  of  His  lov- 
ing-kindnesses," His  "  great  goodness" — imply  that  language  is  inade- 
quate to  express  the  full  extent  of  God's  goodness.  And  I  would  have 
you  note  the  beauty  of  the  familiar  and  expressive  phrase,  so  affection- 
ately repeated —  His  "  loving-kindnesses."  According  as  gratitude  rises 
ill  the  heart  in  view  of  past  mercies,  you  will  put  the  emphasis  on  the 
first  part  of  the  word,  and  it  will  become  to  you  the  /c;77>/^-kindness  of  the 
Lord.  He  is  not  only  kind  to  His  people  and  therefore  inclined  to  do 
them  good — He  is  that  to  all  His  creatures — He  is  more,  He  is  lovingly 
kind.  His  "  kindnesses  "  to  them  that  bear  His  name  are  full  of  love. 
He  has  put  His  wisdom,  His  grace,  His  personal  interest  and  care  into 
His  kindness.  The  point  of  the  whole  passage  is  this — God's  goodness 
to  His  people,  which  to  the  prophet  appears  so  great  that  language  fails 
to  express  it,  brings  into  startling  contrast  their  unworthiness  and  sin  ; 
and  yet  at  the  same  time  that  very  goodness,  so  great  and  marvelous, 
becomes  the  ground  of  confidence  that  Jehovah  will  continue  to  be  gra- 
cious to  His  people,  notwithstanding  their  unworthiness.  His  Name  has 
been  called  upon  them,  they  are  "  the  people  of  His  Holiness."  And 
so,  to-day,  in  calling  to  remembrance  the  "  former  days,"  "  all  the  way 
which  the  Lord  our  God  hath  led  us,"  and  the  "  multitude  of  His  lov- 
ing-kindnesses" to  this  Church  and  people  these  fifty  years,  while  we 
cannot  but  speak  in  terms  of  praise  and  commendation  of  the  devotion 
and  self-sacrifice  of  the  fathers,  and  of  the  dilligence  and  faithfulness  of 
their  successors,  yet  we  should  constantly  keep  in  mind  that  God  alone 
is  worthy  to  be  praised  ;  and  we  here  to-day  should  let  the  words  of  Eli- 
hu  (whose  name  means  "God  Himself")  to  Job  be  guide  to  our  thoughts 
— "Days  should  speak,  and  multitude  of  years  should  teach  wisdom." 

And  right  here,  at  the  outset,  I  must  note  the  unique  fact  that  the 
history  of  these  fifty  years  of  Church  life  is  the  history  of  uninterrupted 
prosperity.  Even  that  which  seemed  at  the  time  to  be  against  us — I 
refer  to  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the  former  house  of  worship — proved 
to  be,  as  do  all  the  Lord's  afflictions,  a  blessing  in  disguise ;  for  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  since  has  been  that  of  continued  and  ever-increasing 
prosperity,  if  growing  numbers  and  enlarged  usefulness  be  criteria  of 
success.  A  spirit  of  harmony  and  good-will  mark  its  whole  course,  and 
it  is,  therefore,  with  unmingled  pleasure  and  gratitude  to  God,  we  may 
recall  the  past.  No  roots  of  bitterness  and  strife  to  be  covered  up,  no 
rocks  of  offence  to  be  carefully  avoided  ! 

It  was  during  the  winter  of  1840-41  that  a  large  number  of  the 
members  of  the  old  First  Church  of  Morristown  withdrew  with  the  pas- 


Rev.  ORLANDO    L.  KIRTLAND. 

tor,  the  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland,  from  that  congregation  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  new  Church  organization.  Their  first  service  as  a  separate 
congregation  was  held  on  Sunday,  Feb.  21,  1841,  in  the  upper  room  of 
the  old  academy  building,  which  stood  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the 
stately  structure — the  Library  and  Lyceum — just  across  the  way  from 
where  we  are  now  worshipping.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Kirtland  conducted 
the  services,  and  continued  to  do  so  as  stated  supply,  till  the  new 
edifice  was  completed,  when,  on  the  same  day,  Oct.  14,  i84i,the  house 
was  dedicated  and  Mr.  Kirtland  was  installed  as  pastor.  On  May  17th 
the  congregation  elected  as  their  first  Board  of  Trustees  Dr.  John  B. 
Johnes,  Lewis  B.  Stiles,  Ephraim  Young,  Jonathan  H.  Smith,  the  Hon. 


Francis  Child,  B.  O.  Canfield  and  the  Hon.  Stephen  Vail.  It  was 
then  required — and  so  continued  till  1848 — by  the  law  of  the  State,  that 
every  person  elepted  to  the  office  of  Trustee  subscribe  to  the  following 
oath,  '•  We  do  swear  that  we  will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  ;  and  we  do  sincerely  profess  and  swear  that  we  will  bear  true 
faith  and  allegiance  to  the  government  established  in  this  State  under 
the  authority  of  the  people  ;  and  we  do  swear  that  we  will  faithfully  ex- 
ecute the  trust  reposed  in  us  as  Trustees,  according  to  the  best  of  our 
abilities  and  understanding.  So  help  us  God."  This  oath,  duly  sub- 
scribed and  sealed,  was  each  year  entered  upon  the  Record  Book  of  the 
Parish. 

Tuesday,  June  ist,  1841,  the  Church  was  formally  organized  by  a 
Committee  of  the  then  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown,  said  Committee 
consisting  of  the  Revs.  David  Magie  and  Nicholas  Murray,  and  Elders 
Richard  Townley  and  James  F.  Meeker,  under  the  name  of  "  The  Sec- 
ond Presbyterian  Church  of  Morristown."  All  of  these  whose  names 
have  been  mentioned  are  fallen  asleep.  Two  hundred  and  seven  com- 
municants, regularly  dismissed  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  were 
*  received,  and  one  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Vernon.  This 
was  nearly  one-half  of  the  membership  of  the  mother  Church.  It  is 
needless  to  say,  that  when  it  came  to  the  question  of  splitting  in  two  a 
strong  and  flourishing  Church  like  the  old  First — a  division  which  for  a 
long  while  must  necessarily  cripple  it,  and  which  involved  the  sundering 
of  very  dear  and  sacred  ties — it  must  have  caused  not  a  few  alienations 
and  no  little  bitterness  of  feeling.  But,  happily,  that  is  all  past,  and 
time,  the  great  healer,  has  brought  instead  only  a  generous  rivalry  be- 
tween mother  and  daughter,  and  a  "  provoking  one  another  to  love  and 
good  works." 

The  Session  of  the  new  Church  met  for  the  first  time  on  June  4th, 
and,  in  the  words  of  the  record,  "  spent  a  season  in  prayer  and  conver- 
sation upon  the  state  of  the  Church."  On  the  following  Lord's  day 
(June  6th),  "  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  for  the  first  time 
administered  in  the  Hall  of  the  Lyceum"  or  Academy. 

Of  the  208  communicants  who  constituted  the  Church  at  its  origin, 
only  eight  "  remain  to  this  present"  in  our  communion,  viz. :  Mr.  Jarzel 
Turner,  Mrs.  Samuel  McNair,  Mrs.  Maltby  G.  Pierson,  Mrs.  J.  Edcell 
Prudden,  Mrs.  Silas  Prudden,  Mrs.  Lewis  B.  Stiles,  Mrs.  O.  L.  Kirtland 
and  Miss  Caroline  B.  Freeman. 

At  this  place,  it  will  be  of  interest  to  recall  the  spirit  and  zeal  of 
those  who  organized  the  Church  and,  amid  many  difficulties  and  self- 
denying  labors,  built  the  first  house  of  worship.     It  will  show  us  that, 


after  all,  noth withstanding  the  generous  contribution  by  the  present  con- 
gregation during  the  past  year  and  within  these  few  weeks  for  the  en- 
largenrient  and  improvement  of  this  beautiful  structure,  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  fifty  years  ago  compare  most  favorably  with  us,  their  children. 
May  we  not. even  say  that  they  exceeded  us  in  real  self-sacrifice  and 
devoted  zeal?  for,  like  the  Churches  of  Macedonia,  "  according  to  their 
power,  yea,  and  beyond  their  power,  they  gave  of  their  own  accord," 
and  their  "  poverty  abounded  unto  the  riches  of  their  liberality." 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  state  here— merely  as  a  matter  of  history — 
that  at  a  meeting  of  the  still  undivided  congregation,  held  in  the  First 
Church  Dec.  30th,  1 840,  to  consider  the  question  of  dividing  the  old  Church 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  among  the 
resolutions,  adopted  by  a  majority  vote  of  ninety-one,  was  the  following  : 
"  That  to  enable  said  Second  Congregation  to  erect  a  house  of  worship 
within  the  limits  of  this  parish  and  for  the  purpose  of  an  amicable  distri- 
bution of  the  property  of  this  congregation,  the  Trustees  assign,  trans- 
fer and  pay  to as  trustees  in  trust  for  that  portion  of  this  congre- 
gation as  shall  become  members  of  the  said  Second  Presbyterian  Con- 
gregation $3,000  of  the  funds,  money  and  property  of  this  congrega-- 
tion,  to  be  appropriated  and  applied  in  erecting  a  house  of  worship  and 
for  the  uses  and  purposes  of  the  said  second  congregation."  This  divis- 
ion of  property  it  appears,  was  to  include  some  "  woodlands  owned  by 
the  congregation,  being  about  sixty  acres,  more  or  less,  to  be  valued  at 
$1,500."  For  reasons  that  need  not  now  be  recalled,  this  particular  action 
was  never  carried  out,  and  the  members  who  separated  from  the  old 
mother  church  finally  went  out  with  only  their  own  willing  hands  and 
hearts  to  meet  the  task  of  providing  a  church  home  for  themselves.  The 
whole  country  had  just  passed  through  a  financial  crisis — the  panic  of 
'37 — than  which  no  greater  and  more  disastrous  has  ever  befallen  our  na- 
tion, and  recovery  from  which  did  not  come  for  years  after.  Banks 
were  insecure  in  their  issue  of  currency,  money  was  with  great  difficulty 
to  be  secured  on  loan.  As  one  who  remembers  well  those  days  has 
written  me,  "  I  feel  the  South  Street  Church  could  raise  $100,000  more 
easily  now  than  $6,000  could  have  been  secured  fifty  years  ago."  "But," 
continues  my  correspondent,  "  the  newly  organized  congregation  was 
fortunate  in  the  unity  and  earnestness  which  actuated  all  classes,  old 
and  young,  and  in  having  connected  with  it  such  men  as  Joseph  M.  Linds- 
ley  and  his  brother  Matthew  G.  Lindsley,  also  Ephraim  Young,  Andrew 
Meeker,  Ezra  J.  Cooper  and  others,  all  skilled  mechanics.  Some  of 
these  men  had  no  superiors  as  builders.  It  was  J.  M.  Lindsley  who 
taught  the  New  York  mechanics  how  to  make  the  unsupported  ceiling 


i6 

of  the  old  Broadway  Tabernacle  in  New  York  City  stay  when  fid  up^ 
and  who  built  the  Court  House  in  Morristown  63  years  ago.  It  was 
the  presence  of  these  skilled  workmen,  backed  by  the  earnest  zeal  of 
such  men  as  Judge  Childs,  Eph.  Young  and  his  father  Stephen  Young, 
Lewis  B.  Stiles,  Jonathan  Smith,  Wm.  L.  Crowell  and  others,  that  led 
to  the  speedy  erection  of  the  '  New  Church,'  as  it  was  for  a  time 
called."  Mention  is  also  made  of  the  constant  and  efficient  aid  of  the 
Women  of  the  Church — then,  as  now  and  always,  among  the  most  loyai 
in  every  good  word  and  work—who,  by  means  of  fairs  and  festivals,  add- 
ed materially  to  the  building  fund.  In  this  connection,  the  letter  speaks 
of  the  ready  assistance  received  from  ladies  of  sister  Churches,  especial- 
ly from  "  Mrs.  G.  P.  Macculloch  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  and 
her  grand-daughters,  the  children  of  the  late  U,  S.  Senator  Miller,  also 
from  the  daughters  of  Judge  Stites  of  the  First  Church — notably  the 
eldest  afterwards  Mrs.  Cortland  Parker — whose  kindly  presence  and 
generous  aid  should  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance."  All  which  it  is 
very  pleasant,  even  after  fifty  years,  to  recall.  The  silver  Baptismal 
«Bowl,  still  in  use  in  the  Church,  was  the  gift  of  Mr.  James  Colles  of  St. 
Peter's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  I  have  in  my  possession  the  auto- 
graph letter  of  Dr.  John  B.  Johnes,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
acknowledging  the  gift,  and  wishing  for  Mr.  Colles  a  prosperous  voyage 
as  he  was  about  to  sail  for  a  tour  through  Europe. 

On  May  17th,  1841,  at  a  parish  meeting  called  for  the  purpose,  it 
was  unanimously  agreed  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  erection  of  a  house  of 
worship,  and  a  Building  Committee  consisting  of  Joseph  M,  Lindsley, 
Ephriam  Young,  Enoch  Ketchum,  John  W.  Poinier  and  William  B. 
Johnson,  was  appointed.  The  first  thing  in  order  was  to  secure  a  site 
on  which  to  build.  Several  lots  were  offered,  among  them  one  on  the 
lower  end  of  Elm  street  near  the  present  R.  R.  Station,  another  on  High 
street  near  Prospect  street,  and  the  Baptist  Church  property.  The  last, 
however,  was  withdrawn  because  the  elder  portion  of  the  Church  would 
not  consent  to  its  being  sold,  and  the  choice  settled  upon  the  site  which 
has  ever  since  been  occupied  bj-  the  Church.  At  that  time  the  lot  was  in 
a  very  different  condition  from  that  which  it  now  presents.  Where  the 
parsonage  now  stands  was  a  deep  and  muddy  ravine  reaching  across 
South  street.  So  deep  was  the  hollow  on  the  street,  it  is  said,  that 
when  one  of  the  old-fashioned  stage  coaches  of  the  day  descended  into 
it,  it  was  completely  hid  from  view  to  one  standing  a  few  hundred  rods 
away.  The  site,  however,  selected  for  the  Church  was  a  dry  sandy 
knoll.  On  it  stood  an  old  frame  building,  which  had  previously  been 
used   as   a  printing  office    by   Henry  P.   Russell,  the  publisher  of  the 


''  Genius  of  Liberty,"  and  later  of  the  "  Morristovvn  Herald."  The 
deed  of  the  property  describes  it  as  containing  one  and  sixty-two- 
one-hundreths  acres,  and  having  196  2-100  feet  frontage  on  South 
street,  and  214  feet  in  the  rear,  with  345  85-100  feet  depth  on  west 
side,  and  342  52-100  feet  on  the  east.  The  price  paid  for  the  lot  was 
$2,500.  It  is  an  item  of  interest,  that  at  this  time  the  M.  &  E.  Division 
of  the  D.,  L.  &  W.  R.  R.  entered  the  town  near  the  junction  of  South 
street  and  Madison  avenue,  and  ran  along  what  is  now  Maple  avenue,  its 
terminus  and  station  being  in  the  neighborhood  of  Maple  avenue  and 
DeHart  street.  This  fact  in  part  accounts  for  the  even  grade  of  that 
fine  avenue.  Ground  was  broken  on  April  7th,  1841,  the  sand  taken 
from  the  cellar  being  used  to  fill  up  the  bog  hole  where  the  parsonage 
now  stands,  members  of  the  congregation  and  others  sending  their 
teams,  wagons  and  carts  and  men  to  aid  in  the  work.  It  was  the  same 
in  bringing  the  stone  for  the  foundations,  all  having  at  heart  the  wel- 
fare and  prosperity  of  the  Church.  Mr.  Benjamin  H.  Lindsley.was  the 
boss  mason,  and  so  well  did  he  and  his  men  work,  largely  aided  by  vol- 
unteers, that  on  May  27th,  fifty  days  after  the  first  ground  was  broken,  • 
the  corner  stone  was  ready  to  be  laid.  It  being  very  stormy  the  congre- 
gation assembled  in  their  place  of  worship  in  the  old  academy,  and  after 
a  service  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  they  crossed  over  to  witness  the 
laying  of  the  corner  stone.  The  ceremonies  consisted  of  prayer  by  the 
Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland  and  an  address  by  the  Rev.  Alfred  Chester, — the 
father  of  Mrs.  Wm.  Coursen,  who  is  with  us  here  to-day.  The  identi- 
cal stone  forms  part  of  the  foundation  of  this  building,  in  the  porch 
leading  to  the  rear  hall  of  the  Church.  Among  the  articles  placed  in 
the  corner  stone,  the  only  thing  that  was  found  intact,  aftei  the  burning 
of  the  church,  was  a  silver  dime  whose  history  is  worth  preserving.  It 
was  the  first  contribution  in  money  towards  the  building  of  the  church, 
the  gift  of  a  little  daughter  in  the  family  of  a  relative  of  Mr.  Chester, 
and  who  overhearing  the  conversation  of  her  elders  about  the  edifice  to 
be  built,  brought  it  saying,  "  I  wish  to  give  this  for  the  new  church  !" 
Though  herself  connected  with  St.  Peter's  Church,  the  simple  gift — as 
generous  as  the  hundreds  given  by  others — was  well  deemed  worthy  a 
place  in  the  corner  stone  of  the  building.  "Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes 
the  Lord  ordains  praise."  At  the  same  time  while  the  church  was  in 
process  of  erection,  a  fine  large  hotel  was  being  built,  as  also  the  former 
Methodist  church.  So  that  the  labor  of  mechanics  was  in  great  demand, 
and  good  wages  offered.  Yet  nearly  every  mechanic  in  the  place  lent 
willing  aid  in  putting  up  the  building,  many  working  without  pay  for 
several  days  at  a  time  and  then  giving  place  to  others.     All  who  had  an 


interest  in  tlie  Church  and  had  woodlands,  brought  to  the  work  choice 
sticks  of  timber,  oak  and  chestnut,  well  hewn  for  beams  and  rafters.  It 
is  worthy  of  mention  here,  that  Mr.  Charles  Ford,  father  of  Mrs.  J.  J. 
Scofield,  brought  timber  from  his  woodlot,  just  as  50  years  before,  when 
a  lad  of  15,  he  had  drawn  from  the  same  lot  for  the  building  of  the  old 
First  Church,  which  still  stands — the  old-time  pride  of  our  town.  Much 
of  the  material — wood  and  stone — which  went  into  the  building  was 
furnished  free  of  cost,  or  subscribed  to  the  building  fund.  One  young 
woman,  still  living,  who  was  earning  fifty  cents  a  week,  subscribed,  out 
of  her  meagre  earnings,  $25  to  the  building.  Many  of  the  timbers  and 
rafters  were  solidly  riveted  by  iron  bolts,  most  of  which  were  made  by 
Mr.  Jarzel  Turner,  then  a  blacksmith  on  Morris  Plains,  and  who  still 
continues  with  us.  The  lathing  and  plastering  was  done  largely  by  vol- 
unteers. It  is  on  record  that  Mr.  Silas  D.  Cory — not  connected  with 
the  congregation — who  at  the  time  had  charge  of  the  mason  work  in  the 
building  of  the  "  New  Jersey  Hotel" — a  season  of  rain  obliging  him  to 
stop  work  on  that  structure — called  for  volunteers  to  go  to  the  church 
and  help  in  the  plastering.  He  was  followed  by  sixteen  of  his  men,  and 
with  them  did  some  three  days'  work,  nor  left  it  until  the  job  was  fin- 
ished. "  Such,"  exclaims  the  historian,  "  was  the  spirit  of  the  mechanics 
of  1841!" 

I  speak  of  these  things,  because  the  willing-hearted  zeal  of  the 
founders  of  this  Church  is  surely  as  worthy  of  mention  as  that  of  the 
Children  of  Israel,  when  in  the  wilderness  "every  one  whose  heart 
stirred  him  up,  and  whom  his  spirit  made  willing,  brought  the  Lord's  of- 
fering to  the  work  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,"  or  as  that  of 
King  Hiram  of  Tyre  who  "  cut  wood  out  of  Lebanon  and  brought  it  in 
floats  by  sea  to  Joppa"  for  the  building  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem. 
The  Church  of  Christ  meant  a  great  deal  to  the  generations  of  the  past  ! 

October,  1841,  found  the  building  completed,  or  at  least  sufficiently 
so  for  occupancy.  The  basement,  which  was  designed  for  the  Sunday 
School  and  week  day  services,  was  not  completed  till  some  time  after- 
wards. It  was  a  plain,  well  built  wooden  structure,  with  a  high  stoop. 
The  tower  was  square  and  surrounded  at  the  top  by  a  wooden  railing. 
Several  years  afterward  this  tower  was  carried  up  higher  and  surmounted 
by  a  dome-shaped  top.  In  it  was  hung  the  bell  presented  by  Judge 
Stephen  Vail,  which  if  not  of  the  most  melodious  sound,  did  good  ser- 
vice for  thirty-six  years,  giving  its  last  voice  in  sounding  out  the  alarm  of 
fire,  before  it  fell,  destroyed  and  buried  in  the  ruins  of  the  burning 
church.  A  fine  clock— the  gift  of  Mrs.  Vail— hung  in  front  of  the 
choir  gallery,  and  a  large  Bible,  also  her  gift,  was  on  the  pulpit. 


THE   FIRST  CHURCH   BUILDING,  1841. 


Oct.  14th  ihe  new  house  was  solemnly  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
Almighty  God.  The  dedicatory  services  were  held  in  the  forenoon  of 
the  day,  at  whidi  the  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Mur- 
ray of  Elizabethtown.  His  closing  words  are  worthy  of  preservation, 
copied  by  one  who  heard  them  :  — 

"  This  will  ever  be  a  day  memorable  in  the  history  of  this  congregation 
and  to  which  the  future  worshippers  here  will  ever  recur  with  interest.  It 
has  pleased  God  thus  far  to  lead  you  along,  and  to  give  you  energy,  harmony 
and  success.  In  the  erection  of  this  house  prosperity  has  attended  you  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end.  No  accident  has  occurred  to  abate  the  pleasure 
of  its  prosecution  or  diminish  your  satisfaction  at  its  completion.  You  as- 
semble here  this  morning  for  its  dedication,  and  will  again  assemble  in  the 
afternoon  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  God  and  the  Presbytery  a  Pastor.  This 
is  indeed  among  us  a  remarkable  coincidence  which  you  should  not  fail  to 
note  and  to  record.  This  house  we  now  dedicate  to  the  worship  of  God.  It  is 
to  be  hereafter  the  place  to  which  this  congregation  will  resort  to  hear  the 
Gospel — to  praise  God  and  seek  his  blessing.  And  that  it  may  be  associated 
only  with  sacred  things,  never  permit  it  to  be  occupied  for  purposes  with 
which  the  worship  of  God  has  no  connection.  Let  this  house  be  sacred  to 
your  hearts  as  the  home  of  your  pious  affections,  as  the  favored  place  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  graces  and  for  the  exercise  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ ;  and  let 
this  house  be  the  place  of  your  habitual  presence.  You  have  erected  and  now 
dedicate  it  to  God.  From  this  pulpit  the  Gospel  in  its  freshnessand  fullness 
is  to  be  preached  ;  to  benefit  you  you  must  statedly  and  regularly  occupy 
these  pews.  Let  this  he  your  house.  Let  the  regular  worshippers  here  be  a 
part  of  your  family.  Let  your  pew  be  as  a  chamber  in  your  own  private 
dwelling,  and  when  the  Word  of  Lif-e  is  here  dispensed,  see  that  your  place 
is  as  regularly  occupied  as  is  your  seat  at  your  own  table.  And  come  at  all 
times  with  the  heart  of  Lydia  to  hear  the  word  that  may  be  spoken,  and 
then  every  Sabbath  spent  here,  every  sermon  heard  here,  every  service  per- 
formed here,  will  tend  to  give  you  meetness  for  that  building  of  God,  that 
house  not  made  with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens.  And  our  hearts  dwell 
with  rapturous  joy  on  the  thought  that  from  this  pulpit  the  Gospel  will  be 
preached,  that  edified  hearers  will  hear  the  joyful  sound  of  the  Gospel  in 
these  pews,  long  after  we  who  are  the  actors  and  spectators  in  the  scenes  of 
this  day  have  returned  to  the  dust ;  that  the  tear  of  penitence  will  here  glis- 
ten in  many  an  eye  when  God  has  wiped  away  all  tears  from  ours  ;  and  that 
here  many  will  draw  around  the  Lord's  table  long  after  we  have  gone  up  to 
our  reward  and  taken  our  seat  at  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb.  Will 
you  not,  now,  dedicate  yoierse/ves  to  be  living  temples,  meet  for  the  indwell- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  However  deeply  we  may  engrave  the  name  of  God 
upon  these  walls,  or  doors,  or  pillars,  it  will  sooner  or  later  be  erased,  for 
the  hand  of  time  will  shake  these  pillars  and  lay  this  house  in  ruins.  But  if 
that  name  is  written  upon  your  hearts,  time  cannot  erase  it.     Death  will  only 


2  I 

render  it  the  more  legible.  The  smoke  of  consuming  worlds  cannot  obscure 
it.  and  when  the  decisions  of  the  last  great  day  have  sent  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked  to  their  various  allotments,  like  the  Urimand  Thummim  upon  the 
breast  of  the  High  Priest  it  will  shine  the  more  resplendent  as  the  years  of 
eternity  roll  onward,  and  will  secure  to  you  forever  all  that  is  comprehended 
in  that  immensely  comprehensive  word  '  salvation.'  Upon  these  walls,  and 
gates,  and  doors,  upon  this  pulpit  and  these  pews,  upon  all  of  our  hearts, 
may  '  Holiness  to  the  Lord "  be  now  written." 

The  prayer  of  dedication  was  offered  by  the  acting  pastor,  Mr. 
Kirtland. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland  was  regularly  installed 
Pastor  of  the  church.  The  sermon  of  installation  was  preached  by  the 
Rev.  C.  K.  Imbrie,  then  of  Rahway ;  the  charge  to  the  pastor  by  the 
Rev.  David  Magie  of  Elizabethtown  ;  the  charge  to  the  people  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Blauvelt  of  Lamington.  The  prayer  of  installation  was  offered 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ogden  of  Chatham. 

The  cost  of  the  building  and  lot  was  estimated  at  $10,840.00,  and 
upon  this  sum  an  assessment  of  10  per  cent,  was  fixed  to  meet  the  cur- 
rent expenses  of  the  congregation. 

The  music  was  one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  the  Dedica- 
tion services,  and  always  formed  an  interesting  and  important  part  of  the 
church  services.  Jacob  Jenkins,  a  teacher  in  the  Academy,  was  choris- 
ter and  leader.  The  choir  was  a  large  one,  composed  of  22  young  ladies 
and  upwards  of  15  gentlemen,  some  of  whom  are  still  among  us,  mem- 
bers of  this  and  other  churches  in  Morristown.  As  they  had  as  yet  no 
organ,  the  accompaniment  was  played  by  Mr.  W.  VV.  Fairchild  on  the 
concert  flute,  Messrs.  Jas.  Noyes  and  Johnson  on  the  violin,  Wm.  Day 
on  the  base  viol.  There  was  also  a  cornet,  and  a  violincello  played  by 
an  accomplished  artist,  whom  the  gentlemen  of  the  choir  hired,  each  con- 
tributing a  Mexican  sixpence  a  Sunday.  Says  one,  who  was  from  the 
beginning  a  member  of  it  and  afterwards  its  leader,  "  that  choir  was  a 
remarkable  one  in  more  ways  than  one," — which  is  easy  to  believe  !  It 
must  have  been  in  its  variety  and  size  something  like  David's  choir — 
*' as  well  the  singers  as  the  players  on  instruments  were  there."  The 
instruments  named  continued  to  be  used  in  the  choir  for  several  years, 
until  they  were  superceded  by  a  seraphine — something  like  an  overgrown 
melodeon.  This  in  time  gave  place  to  a  small  second-hand  organ,  and 
this  again  to  a  new  and  larger  instrument,  which  continued  in  use  till 
the  destruction  of  the  church  by  fire. 

The  church  has  had  in  these  fifty  years  four  pastors,  including  the 
present  incumbent. 


Mr.  Kirtland's  pastorate  continued  till  October,  1851.  i.  e.,  10 
years,  during  which  time  there  were  added  to  the  church — not  includ- 
ing the  original  -207  from  the  First  Church — by  letter  140,  and  on  con- 
fession of  their  faith  123,  total  263,  or  an  yearly  average  of  26.  Mr. 
Kirtland,  after  serving  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  Providence  for 
several  years,  returned  to  Morristovvn  to  spend  his  closing  days,  and 
on  May  27th,  1874,  was  buried  from  the  church  he  had  helped  to  build, 
and  which  he  had  so  long  ministered  to  in  faithfulness  and  love.  He 
was  73  years  of  age. 


Rev.  JAMES  C.  EDWARDS. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Jas.  C.  Edwards,  who  was  installed 
in  January,  1852,  and  continued  till  April,  i860,  a  little  over  8  years. 
During  his  pastorate  143  persons  were  received  into  membership,  59  by 
letter  and  84  on  confession,  or  a  yearly  average  of  18.  Mr.  Edwards 
died  in  Morristovvn  June  28,  1880,  of  the  same  age  as  his  predecessor, 
having  resided  here  previous  to  his  death  about  3  years.  In  the  first 
year  of  Mr.  Edwards's  pastorate  the  Parsonage  was  built  at  a  cost  of 
about  $2,200.     In  succeeding  years  it  was  twice  enlarged. 


23 


Rev.  ARTHUR  MITCHELL,  D.D. 

Rev.  Arthur  Mitchell — at  present  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions — was  the  third  pastor,  being 
installed  in  November,  1861,  and  resigned  his  pastorate  in  October, 
1868,  to  accept  a  call  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Chicago,  111. 
During  his  pastorate  of  7  years  201  were  added  to  the  church,  91  by 
letter  and  tig  on  confession,  a  yearly  average  of  nearly  29.  During  this 
time — in  1865 — the  church  building  was  enlarged  at  a  cost  of  $11,083. 
The  Building  Committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  Gordon  Burnham,  who 
was  also  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  Matthew  Mitchell,  Dr.  E.  B. 
Woodruff,  H.  O.  Marsh  and  S.  S.  Halsey.  Messrs.  Dr.  Woodruff,  S. 
Broadwell  and  C.  H.  Mulford  were  the  committee  to  raise  the  funds 
necessary  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  enlargement.  All  of  these  breth- 
ren—  except  two — have  finished  their  work  and  been  gathered  to  the 
church  of  the  first  born  above. 

In  June,  i86r,  the  church  was  transferred  from  the  then  Presby- 
tery of  Passaic,  O.  S.,  and  received  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Newark,  N.  S.,  under  the  name   of  the    "  South  Street    Presbyterian 


THE  CHURCH  OF  1865, 


25 

Church,"  and  continued  in  this  relation  till  the  Reunion  of  the  Old  and 
New  School  bodies,  when  the  present  Presbytery  of  Morris  and  Orange 
was  constituted. 

T\\t  fourth  and  present  pastorate  began  in  March,  i86g,  the  instal- 
lation services  being  held  on  May  19th  During  these  22  years  the 
church  has  received  into  its  membership  by  letter  418,  and  on  confession 
of  their  faith  549,  or  a  total  of  967,  a  yearly  average  of  44 — making  in 
all  1574  persons  received  into  membership  since  the  organization  of  the 
church;  708  by  letter  and  866  on  confession.  Adding  the  number  of 
original  or  charter  members,  there  have  been  connected  with  this  church 
in  these  50  years  1782.  The  present  membership— not  counting  those 
who  have  been  absent  upwards  of  3  years,  and  those  passed  beyond  our 
knowledge — is  680. 

On  Wednesday,  Jan.  loth,  1877,  the  Church  building  which  had 
been  the  object  of  so  many  prayers  and  loving  zeal  and  devotion — the 
fruit  of  many  a  heartfelt  yet  willing  sacrifice— was  totally  destroyed  by 
fire. 

What  seemed  at  first  so  great  a  calamity  proved  but  the  beginning 
of  enlarged  usefulness  and  blessing.  Immediate  steps  were  taken  to 
rebuild,  and  though  "  times  were  hard  "  and  money  scarce,  old  and 
young  laid  hold  of  the  work.  Sacrifices  neither  few  nor  small  were 
made,  but  all  cheerfully  and  heartily,  for  as  in  Nehemiah's  time  at  the 
rebuilding  of  the  Temple,  "  the  people  had  a  mind  to  the  work,"  and  by 
mid-summer  of  the  following  year  we  entered  this  beautiful  house  vir- 
tually free  from  debt.  The  total  cost  of  the  building  was  $45,600, 
toward  which  the  trustees  received  $23,000  insurance  on  the  old  build- 
ing. Built  at  a  time  when  materials  and  labor  were  at  the  lowest, 
and  with  its  enlarged  capacity  and  improvements,  it  could  scarcely  be 
duplicated  at  the  present  time  for  less  than  $90,000.  The  amount 
raised  by  the  congregation,  including  cost  of  organ,  heating  apparatus 
and  furnishing  of  church  and  Sunday  school  rooms,  aggregated  about 
$32,000. 

We  may  not  pass  from  this  part  of  our  history  without  again  com- 
mending the  wisdom,  faithfulness  and  zeal  of  the  Building  Committee, 
into  whose  hands  the  parish  gave  the  work,  viz.  :  Messrs.  J.  W.  Rob- 
erts, Wm.  L.  King,  H.  O.  Marsh,  Geo.  H.  Danforth,  Dr.  P.  C.  Barker, 
E.  A.  Graves  and  Matthew  Mitchell.  The  wise  intelligence  of  the 
Committee,  as  well  their  good  fortune,  will  be  gladly  recognized  in  the 
choice  of  the  architect,  Mr.  J.  C.  Cady  of  New  York,  whose  name  and 
services  will  always  be  gratefully  remembered  by  us. 


26 

The  Benediction,  inscribed  over  the  arch,  spanning  the  pulpit, — 
"  Grace  be  unto  you  and  Peace  from  Him  which  is,  and  which  was,  and 
which  is  to  conle"—  fitly  expresses  the  purpose  and  meaning  of  this 
House  to  all  who  enter  its  doors. 

As  compared  with  this  present  stately  edifice,  with  all  its  facilities 
and  splendid  equipment  of  S.  S.  rooms,  the  old  church  building  was  in- 
deed "  homely,"  as  the  phrase  goes,  with  its  high,  front  stoop,  and  its 
underground,  low  ceiling  S.  S.  rooms,  in  one  end  of  which  in  close  com- 
panionship with  the  furnace,  the  little  restless  flock  of  the  Infant  de- 
partment was  gathered,  on  hard,  stairlike  benches,  rising  from  the  floor 
to  the  great,  tin,  unpainted,  tunnel  like,  heating  flues  overhead, — homely 
and  perhaps  unattractive  to  the  uninterested  and  stranger,  but  beautiful 
as  a  palace  to  them  who  there  first  saw  the  King  in  His  beauty,  and 
there  were  wont  to  hold  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ. 

Fathers  and  mothers  are  here  to-day  who  are  leading  their  children 
and  children's  children  in  the  path  in  which  their  own  childish  feet  learned 
to  walk,  led  by  the  hand  of  loving  and  devoted  teachers. 

"  The  story  of  the  past 

Comes  up  before  our  view  ; 
How  well  it  seems  to  suit  us  still. 

Old,  and  yet  ever  new. 

'Tis  the  same  story  still, 

Of  sin  and  weariness, 
Of  grace  and  love  yet  flowing  down 

To  pardon  and  to  bless." 

The  congregation  throughout  its  history  has  been  especially  fortu- 
nate in  its  choice  of  the  men  who  administered  its  affairs  as  Trustees. 
Besides  those  already  mentioned,  and  who  constituted  its  first  Board, 
among  the  number  who  have  been  called  up  higher  are  such  names  as 
Judge  Edward  W.  VVhelpley,  Gordon  Burnham,  Dr.  E.  B.  Woodruff,  E. 
J.  Danlorth,  George  H.  Danforth,  Hon.  Theo.  F.  Randolph,  Samuel  J. 
Doty,  David  J.  Guerin,  John  R.  Church,  Rufus  R.  Graves,  WiUiam  S. 
Babbitt,  Edgar  F.  Randolph,  John  C.  Lord  and  others,  who  with  loyal 
and  single-hearted  zeal  cared  so  faithfully  for  the  temporal  interests  of 
the  Church  and  congregation. 

Equally  favored  has  the  Church  been  in  the  character  of  the  men 
who,  as  Elders,  had  charge  of  its  spiritual  affairs.  On  May  27th,  1841, 
the  first  Session  of  Ruling  Elders  of  the  Church  was  chosen,  viz :  Jabez 
Mills^  John  W.  Poinier  and  William  B.  Johnston.  The  following,  also 
—  names  honored  and  beloved — were  members  of  the  Session,  some  of 


27 

them  at  times  acting  also  as  Trustees,  viz:  Absalom  Woodruff,  M.D., 
Amos  Prudden,  E.  J.  Cooper,  Amzi  Gary,  Edwin  Graves,  E.  J.  Dan- 
forth,  J.  W.  Roberts,  Isaac  R.  Noyes,  Matthew  Mitchell,  John  G. 
Hines,  G.  G,  Hazeltine,  M.  G.  G.  Witte,  Heman  Mead  and  E.  A. 
Graves, — men  beloved  and  honored  for  their  godly  lives,  men  of  faith 
and  prayer.  The  first  bench  of  Deacons  was  chosen  on  June  ist,  187 1, 
consisting  of  Theodore  Ayers,  William  S.  Babbitt,  S.  L.  Young,  Dr.  F. 
W.  Owen,  Samuel  McNair  and  Gharles.  W.Ford.  Two  of  these  have 
gone  on  before,  two  still  continue  in  office. 

The  Spiritual  History  of  the  Ghurch  is  full  of  profoundest  interest, 
— a  history  which  cannot  be  told  in  figures — which  only  the  arithmetic 
of  Heaven,  and  the  Book  of  Life  which  shall  be  "  opened,"  can  rightly 
unfold.  From  the  beginning,  the  one  great  aim  of  all  gospel  preaching 
and  church  life  was  constantly  kept  in  view — the  salvation  of  souls. 
Few,  indeed,  were  the  communion  seasons  when  there  were  not  some 
gathered  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Ghurch.  At  the  very  origin  of  the 
Ghurch  the  devotion  and  earnestness  of  the  people  attracted  the  impen- 
itent and  unsaved.  Says  one :  "  Men  were  seen  at  the  services  of  the 
Ghurch  who  had  not  been  found  at  religious  worship  in  years  before." 

A  Sunday  School  was  immediately  organized  in  the  old  academy 
building.  Bible  classes  of  young  and  middle-aged  men  were  formed 
under  godly  teachers,  like  Mr.  Jabez  Mills  and  Mr.  Ezra  J.  Gooper. 
There  are  those  here  to-day,  and  multitudes  over  the  land,  who  cherish 
in  grateful  remembrance  "  the  earnest  prayers  and  tender  appeals"  of 
Mr.  J.  W.  Poinier,  the  Superintendent.  A  young  men's  Bible  Society 
was  soon  organized,  the  town  was  districted  and  canvassed  and  supphed 
with  the  Word  of  God,  under  the  faithful  oversight  of  Mr.  G.  H.  Mul- 
ford,  whose  "  bow  still  abides  in  strength."  From  this  Society  came 
a  project  to  canvass  the  whole  Gounty,  which  put  new  life  into  the 
Gounty  Bible  Society  which  had  lain  comparatively  idle  for  years. 

Special  seasons  of  revival  interest  often  prevailed.  In  1842,  the 
year  after  the  organization  of  the  Ghurch,  twenty-seven  were  received 
into  the  membership  of  the  Ghurch  on  confession  of  their  faith.  The 
year  following  upwards  of  fifty  confessed  Ghrist.  For  large  numbers  re- 
ceived at  any  one  communion,  the  following  dates  are  memorable  :. 
June,  '58,  36;  April, '74,  42;  Feb.,  '76,  42;  Jan.,  '87,  57;  Feb.,  '91, 
21.  These,  indeed,  are  mere  figures  ;  who  can  write  the  Hst  of  blessed- 
ness and  joy  which  they  convey  ?  The  great  majority  of  those  received' 
into  the  Ghurch — and  the  same  is  true  of  every  long  established  church 
— have  come  into  it  through  the  Sabbath  School. 

The  history  of  our  Sunday  School  would  itself  require  many  pages- 


28 

to  relate.  Always  flourishing  and  zealous  in  every  good  word  and  work, 
it  never  was  more  prosperous  than  now,  when,  with  its  large  adult  Bible 
classes,  it  has  on  its  roll  770  scholars  and  teachers.  It  is  not  merely 
the  right  arm  of  the  Church,  ifs  the  heart,  which  both  receives  and  gives, 
and  is  a  blessing  continually. 

Bencvoletue.  Need  I  say  that  a  Church  with  such  a  record  as  I 
have  but  feebly  outlined,  must  of  necessity  have  cultivated  the  "  grace  " 
of  giving?  ''  Of  necessity,"  1  say,  for  I  earnestly  believe  that  the  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  prosperity  which,  during  these  fifty  years,  has  marked 
its  history,  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  this  has  been  and  is  a 
missionary  Church.  From  the  very  beginning,  pastor  and  people  re- 
cognized the  obligation  of  the  Church  to  those  who  dwell  in  the  "  re- 
gions beyond  "  I  find  in  the  record  that  in  the  first  year  of  its  existence 
—  notwithstanding  the  heavy  burdens  incumbent  upon  it — $375  were 
contributed  for  "  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  abroad,"  as  the  phrase  then 
was.  The  year  following  this  was  increased — including  the  several 
causes  of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions — to  $728.  With  the  growth  of 
the  Church  came  a  steady  growth  in  giving.  Under  the  ministry  of  Dr. 
Mitchell  the  gifts  of  the  Church  increased  rapidly.  Having  a  more 
complete  tabulated  form  of  the  Benevolent  Contributions  of  the  Church 
during  the  present  pastorate.  I  may  be  permitted  to  give  the  summary 
for  the  twenty-two  years  past : 
-For  the  cause  of  Home  Missions  in  these  twenty-two  years  the 

Church  contributed $41,626 

Foreign  Missions 58,741 

Education, 1 1,535 

Publication  Board, 2,083 

Eoard   of  Church  Erection, 5,654 

Ministerial  Rehef, 5,521 

Mission  for  Freedmen, 16,671 

Aid  for  Colleges,  Academies,  &c., 652 

Miscellaneous. — Including   Bible  Society,   Tract   Society,   Sea- 
men's Friend  Society,  &c.,  &c., 37,603 

Making  a  total  of $180,086 

or  a  yearly  average  of  $8,185. 

During  the  same  period,  for  congregational  expenses,  in- 
cluding building  of  new  church,  &c., $194,578 

A  grand  total  of . $374,664 

or   a  yearly    average  of  benevolence  and  congregational  expenses    of 

;$I7,030. 


29 

In  contributing;  to  this  grand  result,  credit  must  be  given  to  the  va- 
rious organizations  of  the  church,  viz :  "  The  Sabbath  School  Mis- 
sionary Association,"  "  The  Woman's  Missionary  Society,"  organized 
in  1872 ;  "  The  Young  Ladies'  Mission  Band,"  formed  in  1882  ; 
"  Mens'  and  Boys'  Missionary  Fund,"  now  in  its  third  year ;  besides 
the  union  organizations  such  as  the  McAll  Auxiliary,  Indian  Associa- 
tion Auxiliary,  Woman's  Union  Missionary  Society,  and  The  Angelini 
Society,  in  all  of  which  the  women  of  this  church  bear,  in  some  cases, 
the  larger  part. 

We  are  represented  on  the  Foreign  Field  by  Miss  Youngman  \vt 
Japan,  three  lady  missionaries  of  the  "  China  Inland  Mission,"  Rev  A. 
Beattie  and  four  native  helpers  in  Southern  China,  Rev.  Mr.  Coan  in 
Persia,  all  of  whom  are  supported  by  the  several  societies  of  the  church 
and  special  individual  contributions.  Nor  have  these  interests  and  oth- 
ers interfered  with  the  regular  collections  for  the  respective  Boards  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Besides  these,  the  Sunday  School  Missionary  Association  has  as- 
sumed the  support  of  a  Home  Missionary  in  Boise  City,  Idaho.  Our 
''  Market  Street  Mission,"  now  in  its  3d  year,  is  sustained  by  the  freewill 
gifts  of  our  people  at  a  cost  of  from  $1200  to  $1500  annually.  One  of 
our  number — Miss  Bessie  Babbitt— is  a  missionary  in  India,  under  the 
care  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Many  and  varied  are  the  lines  of  Christian  activity,  individual  and 
associated,  which  lie  open  to  a  thoroughly  equipped,  Christ-loving  and 
devoted  church.  Beloved,  by  the  very  fact  of  the  ability  and  generous 
willingness  which  are  yours,  as  well  as  the  gracious,  loving-kindness  af 
our  God,  we  are  "debtors  both  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the  barbarians, 
both  to  the  wise  and  to  the  unwise."  "  Thanks  be  unto  God  for  His 
unspeakable  gift." 

But  I  must  not  detain  you  longer,  although  the  lessons  are  mani- 
fold, which  the  "Days"  of  our  history  and  the  "multitude  of  years  " 
teach. 

Let  me  simply  suggest  in  closing — 

(i)  The  power  and  blessedness  of  united  and  harmonious  effort  m 
the  Lord's  work. 

We  stand  in  the  midst  of  turmoil  and  unrest  in  the  religious  and 
social  world.  The  days  before  us  are  evidently  full  of  the  possibilities 
of  strife  and  bitterness — possibilities  which,  if  we  cease  to  watch  and 
pray,  will  divert  attention  from  the  work  of  the  Master,  and  make  the 
church  a  by-word  to  the  worldling. 


3° 

"  Let  the  Peace  of  God,  which  passeth  understanding,  keep  your 
hearts  and  minds  in  Christ  Jesus." 

(2)  The  true  purpose  and  design  of  Christ's  Church  must  be  kept 
in  mind — the  deepening  and  developing  of  spiritual  life  ;  bearing  the 
message  of  God's  gospel  to  the  unsaved,  at  home  and  abroad  ;  being  a 
living,  visible  witness  for  God's  truth  and  his  word.  Remember,  God 
has  not  only  founded  the  church,  but  marvellously  preserved  it  through 
the  ages.  Being  instituted  for  Godlike  ends,  only  so  is  it  Christ's 
Church — the  Church  of  the  Living  God. 

(3)  What  lessons — lessons  of  admonition  and  entreaty — does  the 
history  of  such  a  church  as  this — of  any  true  church — bring  to  the  un- 
saved, and  to  those  who  still  have  not  openly  acknowledged  Christ  Jesus 
as  Lord  and  Master  ! 

How  the  memories  of  the  past  throng  around  us — the  saintly  lives 
of  fathers  and  mothers,  the  godly  service  and  earnest  prayers  of  pastors 
and  people,  the  fervent  appeals  from  pulpit  and  teacher's  chair, — surely 
it  would  seem  there  could  be  no  valid  reason  why  any  should  be  still 
unsaved  or  unwilling  to  take  up  the  duties  of  Christian  service. 

(4)  Finally,  as  we  here  recall  the  story  of  the  past  and  rejoice  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  present,  and  while  we  look  forward  to  still  larger  ser- 
vice and  blessing  in  the  days  to  come,  let  us,  with  a  deep  sense  of  our 
unworthiness  and  dependence,  say  with  the  Psalmist :  "  Not  unto  us,  O 
Lord,  not  unto  us  ;  but  unto  Thy  name  be  all  glory."  Let  it  be  our 
steadfast  purpose  to  make  the  days  to  come  worthy  of  and  an  advance 
upon  the  days  that  are  gone,  so  that  we  "  come  behind  in  no  gift,  wait- 
ing for  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  also  confirm  you 
unto  the  end,  that  ye  may  be  blameless  in  the  Day  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

And  now,  brethren,  we  "commend  you  to  God  and  to  the  word  of 
His  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance 
among  all  them  who  are  sanctified  by  the  faith  which  is  in  Christ. 

"  The  Lord  bless  and  keep  you.  The  Lord  cause  His  face  to 
shine  upon  you,  and  be  gracious  unto  you. 

"  The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  you,  and  give  yoK 
peace."     Amen  and  Amen. 


APPENDIX. 


32 

STATISTICAL    REPORT 

OF    THE^CHURCH    FOR    THE    YEAR    ENDING    APRIL,    1 89 1. 

MEMBERSHIP. 
Added  on  Examination,         .  .  -  .  43 

"       by  Letter,  -  -  -  -  -  -       27 

70 
Dismissed,  -  -  -  -  -  16 

Died,         .......  ig 

—     35 

Net  gain,  ..----  35 

Adults  baptised,  -  -  -  -  -  21 

Infants         "-.----         9 
Present  enrolled  membership,  exclusive  of  those  on  "  Reserved 

Roll," 680 

Sabbath  School  membership,  -  -  -  -  774 

BENEVOLENT    CONTRIBUTIONS,    &c. 

I/ome  Missiojis,               -             -             -             -             -  $3i553°o 

Foreign  Missions,  -  -  -  -  -4,899.00 

Ministerial  Education,                 -             -             -             -  320.00 

Board  of  Publication,  iS>i!o\>2X\i^<:)i^oo\v^Q>x\,')           -             -  108.00 

Church  Erection,             -             -             -             -             -  i39-°o 

Ministerial  Relief ,                 .....  250,00 

Missions  for  Freedjnen,               -             -             -             -  45^-°° 

Synodical  Home  Missions,     -  -  -  -  -204.00 

Aid  for  Colleges  and  Academies,             -             -             -  85.00 

American  Bible  Society,          -           -             -             -             -  93 -O"^ 

"        Seamen's  Eriend  Society,         -             -             -  165.00 

Tract  Society,       -----  53.00 

Deacons'  Eund,               -             -             -             -             -  467.00 

Cht^rch  Sabbath  School,       -----  400.00 

General  Assembly  Eutid,             .             .             .             .  75°^ 

Miscellaneous,          ....--  305.00 

Total  Benevolent  Contributions,     -             -             -  $11,567.00 

Congregational  Expenses,                 -             -             -  9>9^9°° 
Amount  paid  on  subscriptions  to  New  Organ  and  Sabbath 

School  enlargement,               -             -             -  6,199.00 

Grand  Total,  ...  -  $27,695.00 


33 

The  above  Benevolent  contributions  are  from  the  following  sources  : 

[i]    Weekly  offerings  on  each  Lord's  Day. 

[2]  Sabbath  School  Missionary  Association.  The  appropriations 
last  year  to  various  objects  in  the  Home  and  Foreign  Field  aggregated 
$1,100.00. 

[3]  Woman's  Missionary  Society,  support  of  Miss  Youngman 
in  Tokio,  Japan ;  scholarship  in  Indian  School,  Albuquerque,  New- 
Mexico,  and  Home  Mission  Boxes. 

[4]  Young  Ladies'  Mission  Band,  support  of  Miss  Scott  of  the 
"  China  Inland  Mission  ;"  work  in  Alaska  and  Korea. 

[5]  Men's  and  Boys'  Missionary  Fund,  support  of  Rev-  Andrew 
Beattie  and  four  native  helpers  in  Yeong  Kong,  China. 

The  women  of  the  church  also  bear  their  part  in  the  work  of  the 
Morristown  "  McAU  Auxiliary,"  the  "  Woman's  National  Indian  Asso- 
ciation Auxiliary,"  and  the  "  Woman's  Union  Missionary  Society," 

Two  Missionaries  of  the  "  China  Inland  Mission"  are  supported — 
one  entirely,  the  other  in  part — by  individual  members  of  the  church. 

One  of  our  number — Miss  Bessie  Babbitt — is  a  missionary,  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  in  Manipuri, 
India. 

The  Market  Street  Mission,  founded  in  the  Spring  of  1889,  is  sup- 
ported by  the  church  at  an  annual  cost  of  about  $1200.  Evangelistic 
services  are  held  every  evening  of  the  year.  Mr.  Thos.  B.  Ironside, 
Superintendent. 

A  Brick-  Yard  Mission,  at  the  Watnong  Brick- Yard,  is  conducted 
during  the  Summer  by  the  young  men  of  the  church. 


ll^T^^  47411 


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